AGUILUCHO

Executive Summary

Aguilucho is located in one of the most productive gold and copper belts in Chile, and close to Copiapó, a well-known mining city. The region is known for epithermal veins, porphyries and tourmaline breccias projects, and old mines. The Aguilucho project is hosted in an advanced argillic lithocap with kilometric extension emplaced along regional structural control.

Key points

  • 60 km by good access roads from Copiapó city.
  • Mining property. 600 ha, 100% MASGLAS.
  • Exploration stage. Early mapping and sampling.
  • Exploration potential. Porphyry Cu-Au and Epithermal HS.

Location

Aguilucho is located in the Atacama Region in northern Chile, approximately 45 kilometers to the east of Copiapó city.

Positioned over the southern extension of the prominent Paleocene – Early Eocene belt, characterized at these latitudes of porphyry (Relincho), hydrothermal breccias (Los Azules/Cabeza de Vaca) and epithermal systems (Lomas Bayas Au-Ag).

In the point of view of the regional structural context, Aguilucho is situated in the intersection of the Domeyko Fault zone and the regional northwest-southeast structural corridor extended from Cerro Casale mine (Kinross, Au-Ag) and Caspiche advanced project (Exeter, Au-Cu). (See Figure 1)

The Aguilucho and Condor projects are placed between two old mining districts, to the south Lomas Bayas Au-Ag mine and Cabeza de Vaca district to the north with Los Azules copper project (MASGLAS America Corp.); and also located 100 kilometers to the North from the Corridor project a combined project between Goldcorp and Teck mines (El Morro 678Mt @ 0.35% Cu, 0.30 g/t Au; and Relincho, 1239Mt @ 0.37% Cu, 0.017ppm Mo).

Figure 1. Location of Aguilucho project.
Figure 1. Location of Aguilucho project.

Mining Property

Aguilucho consists of 600 ha of exploration claims, 100% owned by MASGLAS.

Geology

Volcanic and intrusive rocks with Paleocene to early Eocene age crops out at Aguilucho area. An alteration footprint of 4 x 3 kilometers is mostly covered by Aguilucho properties. Where the alteration is characterized by advanced argillic assemblages over volcanics, with typical zonation characterized by quartz-alunite ± pyrophillite replacement, with patchy and saccharoidal textures, also grading outwards to dickite and illite, and finally epidote-chlorite alteration. At the base of lithocap in lower topographic elevations, Quartz-OxFe veins are widespread. (See Figure 2)

Figure 2. a. - massive fine quartz with patchy saccharoidal alunite; b. - Quartz-hematite veins.
Figure 2. a. – massive fine quartz with patchy saccharoidal alunite; b. – Quartz-hematite veins.

Exploration

Exploration until today at Aguilucho project consisted of basic field recon and rock sampling.

Evidence of a big hydrothermal system in the project adding to evidence of typical lithocap alteration patterns suggests a high potential for porphyry Cu-Au or Epithermal HS target exploration to Aguilucho project.

MASGLAS exploration works are underway.